


Beacon of Light

by GayTrashDove



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Pining, Songfic, young kyalin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29645952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayTrashDove/pseuds/GayTrashDove
Summary: Lin thinks back on her last day with Kya before she left to travel.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Songfic based on Flashlight by The Front Bottoms

I missed her. Dammit, I missed her. Kya had left. I knew she was going to, she always talked about it, but it still hurt when the time came. And now I don’t even have anything to   
remember her by except the quickly fading images in my head. 

I tried so hard to commit her face to memory that last night we hung out. She had stayed up late talking, and I just stared, taking in every feature I could. From the dazzling blue eyes to the full, dark lips. From the high cheek bones to the soft curl of her hair when she let it down. 

Damn, I missed her. 

I tried to mimic the breathing exercises she taught me. I sat in the pose, and I struggled to recall every word she had told me. “In. In. Now, out through the mouth.” But I was never good at meditating. Not like her. And I couldn’t even fall back on that to remind me of her. 

Instead, I would go on long walks, that would turn into long runs. Running in circles throughout the city, running until I felt like I would pass out. My breathing regulated by the desperate gasps, trying to fill my lungs.

But now, I laid there in bed, remembering when she would sneak over, blowing harshly on her bison whistle to grab my attention. I could always barely hear it, but it was the only way to avoid waking up Su and mom. 

I would listen for it every night until I fell asleep. When I did hear it, I would glance outside to catch the moon reflecting off those damn, blue eyes. A beacon of light in their own right. And they would draw me in and lead me outside to her. 

That last night, we walked into the woods on the outskirts of the city, chatting amicably, avoiding the topic of her leaving. She started talking about some kids from school, how some had left, avoiding the dregs of society. She then starts talking about lilyweed and how it offers such a great escape. 

And I know she’s probably smoking with those kids now. Avoiding her own dregs. Finding her own escape. The one she says she needs.

I think to the last few letters I received. She said she was trying to find herself. I just wished she didn’t have to do it without me. She had mentioned a girl in the last one. My chest   
feels funny at the thought of her and some girl, traipsing through the world together. 

I wish I could see those eyes just one more time. To watch each blink, trying to find a hidden meaning behind the shifting emotions. 

How can I miss someone so much?

Why do my emotions have to be felt so strongly. She told me I could never do anything part way, always giving everything my all. And apparently that extended to missing her. 

I wish we could find some middle ground. I so badly want her back in the city, coming to my window every night, a bison whistler and blue eyes meeting me.


	2. Maps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kya's POV the night she leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by TFB "Maps"

I stared at the map on the wall, taking in all the little push pins I had used to mark where I wanted to travel. I looked back at the bag on the floor. I had to leave soon… Or I never would. So many plans, and the longer I stayed, the more I felt them slip away, out of my grasp.

I turned to the earthbender who had followed me home that night. She told me she hates me. It sounded so genuine that every time she previously told me she loved me suddenly sounded false. I licked my lips; it left a bitter taste in my mouth to tell her I love her. It felt like a lie as I looked at my packed bag.

She’s always so sure of herself, but that night I heard her crying from her sleeping bag on the floor. I turned away.

I had told her I was leaving. She was so mad. She said she never should have been my friend, that others wouldn’t be leaving her.

But I knew that she was putting herself in a life where she would wake up in the future, wondering how she got to such a place, and I wouldn’t have that for myself. If the roles had been reversed… Wouldn’t she leave me?

She had begged me not to go, telling me she was sure something bad would happen. That she couldn’t bare it if it did. She had asked if I loved any of my friends, and if I did, why did I not stay?

But I know I have to go… Or I never would leave. And looking at the map on my wall, I don’t want to lose my grasp on those plans.


	3. Awkward Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off 'Awkward Conversations' by The Front Bottoms

I stood in the corner of the room, hating the fact I even had to be there, working security, for my ex’s wedding. And to make it worse. She was there. Smiling and laughing, not a care in the world. 

Then she spots me, coming over, smiling wide. I was pulled into an awkward hug before I could blink. The awkward conversation that followed not helping, faltering, the easy flow of the past long gone.

She stood there, cracking open the window as she pulled out a cigarette. I couldn’t help but think it was by far too cold. 

She offered me a drag, one I begrudgingly took, inhaling the smoke deep into my lungs. I handed the cigarette back, propping my collar up against the chill. 

She tried to talk about the past, bringing up our time together. But that was no longer me.

She seemed intent on acting like nothing had changed between us. Too bad that couldn’t be true. I ended up walking away, smoke still lingering on my breath.

I found myself at home, thinking through my conflicted feelings, drink in hand. I loved how she was so true to herself, flittering around the world, nothing to tie her down. But in the process, she cut me away too, letting me fall to the ground as she flew off. 

She may benefit from her lifestyle, but I needed control. She could lead her life, but I had to lead mine.


End file.
